Combined heater and muffler for motor vehicles



Dec. 16, 1924. 1,519,984

E. RYDER COMBINED HEATER AND MUFFLER FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed Nov. 5,1921 Zae zZZz 17706. 6Z6V clgwmm Paitented Dec. 16, 1924.

v UNITED STATES. PATENT OFFICE.

ELMER RYDER, F ARGO, ILLINOIS.

COMBINED HEATER AND MUFFLER FOR MOTOR VEHICLES.

Application filed Noyember 5, 1921. SeriaLNo. 513,007.

, To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELMER RYDER, a citizen of the-United States,residing at Argo, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,

6 have invented new and useful Improvements in Combined Heaters andMufiiers for Motor Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.a

This invention relates to a combined heater and muffler for automobilesand other motor vehicles.

One object of my invention is to combine the muffler and heater in onestructure so that the two may be applied to the car as one fixture, thusreducing the cost of construction and installation, and further have themufli'erserve a dual purpose, namely, 'to mufile the exhaust gases andto constitute the heating element for the heater.

Another object of my invention .is to cast or otherwise make theniuflier in one piece so that there are no joints in the structure toallow the exhaust gases to leak into the car through the heater.

A further object of my invention is to provide a damper plate for theheater and thus allow the same to be turned on and off when desiredwithout diverting or in any way interfering with the passage of theexhaust gases through the muffler.

j Another object of my, invention is to provide means for allowing adraft of air to pass over the mufiler when the heater is turned ofi andthus carry ofi the radiant heat from the muffler to .avoid overheatingit or heating the car when the heater is turned off.

A still further object of my invention is to associate the damper plateand means for allowing air to pass over the muffler so that in theoperation of the former to close the heater the latter will be opened.

Other and further objects of my invention will appear from the.following specification taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectional viewtaken through .a combined muffler and heater constructed in accordancewith my invention, said section being taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 1, partly insection;

Fig. 3 is a side view of my device;

Fig. e is a transverse vertical sectional' view taken on line 4- of Fig.2 3 Fig.5 is a bottom plan view on a small scale of the muflier; andFig. 6 is a view of a detail of construction to be hereinafterdescribed.

In the drawings, 1 indicates a floor board of an automobile. This is cutout to provide a rectangular opening 2to receive the combined heater andmufiier of my invention. Such device comprises a metal pan 3 having abottom wall 4 and side and end walls 5 6 and 6, inclined upwardly andoutwardly, as

shown. An outwardly extending, horizontal flange 7 is provided about theupper edges of said walls 5 and 6, and this flange rests on the floor 1about the opening 2 and may hr; securedto said floor to hold. the pan 3in p ace. 7

Extending over the top of the pan 3 is a metal frame 8 provided withinits margin with a plurality of openings'or holes 9 ar- '7 ranged inrows, as shown, so that the frame 1s a register. Said frame 8isconnected along one side by hinges 10, 10 with the associated sideedge of the flange 7 so that .the frame 8 may be raised for opening the30 pan. The frame 8 is provided adjacent its side opposite the hinges 10with an undercut finger hole. or recess 11 to facilitate raising andlowering the frame into and out of open and closed positions.

Located in the pan 3 is a mufiiler 12. This is a. hollow conduit and hasthe general shape shown in the drawings. The mufiler 12 is provided witha number of interior bafile walls 13, 13 staggered with respect to eachother and arranged upright and joining the top and bottom walls of themuflier casing. The mufller 12 is cast in one piece, thus avoidingjoints in the construction with the result that exhaust gases passingthrough the muffler do not leak out of the same and into the body of thecar through the openings in the register 8. Manifestly, there is -nolikelihood of smoking out the car body or having it filled with any ofthe 0b" jectionable exhaust gases. The muffler 12 is provided at one endwith a tubular inlet fitting. 14 and at the other end with an outletfitting 15. These. parts 14:, 15 project outward from the pan 3 throughsuitable openings provided therein for that purpose and enable pipesections or other conduits to be connected therewith for carrying theexphere. I

F or controlling the passage of radiant heat from the muflier .12through the openings 9 of the register 8, I provide a damper plate 16beneath the plate 8, as shown in Figs. land 2. This plate 16 is providedwith a plurality of holes or openings 17, 17 of the same size and shapeas the openings 9 and arranged in the same manner. These openings 17 areadapted to be moved into and outof register with the openings 9 as theplate is slid back and forth beneath the register 8. -To support theplate 16 in sliding. engagement with the under sideof the register 8, Iprovide a plurality of inwardlyv extending spring clips 18 secured tothe under side of the register 8 and overlapping the side margins of thedamper plate 16, as clearly shown in Fig. 4:. The plate 16 has adjacentone end a. knob 19 'in an elongated slot 20 in the register 8,

by means ofwhich the plate, 16 may be .moved over to completely open'orclose the openings 9 or to partially open the same to control the amountof heat passing into the car through the register.

Tohold the register 8 closed, I provide 1 a spring catch construction,which comprises .a plurality of flat spring members 21 secured to thepan Son the inside adjacent the swinging side edge-of the plate 8: Thesespringmembers 21 have'their upper edges "ibent orcurve'd outward and areprovided with apertures 22 to receive rounded heads 23 carried by lugs'24 depending from the under side of the register plate 8, as clearlyshown'in Fig. 6. This construction holds the register plate closed andprevents it from rattling during the travel of the car over theroadwayand also holds the plate 8 in normally closed position. Theconstruction, however, allows the. register plate 8 to be swung" upwardfrom the pan when the plate 8 is raised. To facilitate radiating heatfrom the mufier 12, it is provided with a plurality of upwardlyprojecting fins 25, which, in the form of device shown in the drawings,extend transversely across the top wall of the muffler casing.

The muflier casing 12 is also provided with an outwardly projecting ribor flange 26 extending completely about the casing between the top andbottom walls thereof and the mufier 12 to the pan 3 by a number ofscrews 27 inserted through the bottom wall of the pan and into thebottomwall The pan 3 is provided in its side walls I 5, 5 with elongatedopenings 28, 28. These are normally closed by spring pressed dampers 29,29 arranged on the outside of the pan and hinged to the walls 5, 5, asshown. hen the damper plate 16 of the register is closed, radiant heatfrom the muffler 12 is shut off from entering the car, .and at that timeit isadvisible to have the dampers 29, 29 open to permit a" current ofair to pass over the muffler 12 to carry off the radiant heat, thuspreventing overheating of the muhfler while the heater is closed.

- To open the dampers 29, 29 automatically upon moving the plate 16 intoclosed position, I provide each damper 29 with a plurality of arms 30.These extend into the pan 3 through the slots or openings 28,

as shown in Fig. 4, and have their inner ends arranged in the path ofmovement of the lugs 31 depending from said plate 16. The lower surfacesof these lugs 31. are

cam shaped or inclined lengthwise of the.

tion and normally maintained -in that posi-- tion while the heateris inuse. Should-the register plate 8 be raised while the damper plate 16 isin closed position, the lugs 31 .would be'lifted from the arms 30and-the dampers 29 will close. But on closing the plate 8, the lugs 31strike the arms 30 and again open the dampers 29.

The rib 26 on the ,mufiier'12 in contacting with the marginal walls ofthe pan 3 prevents dust and articles dropped into the pan through theopenings 9 and 17 of the register from getting vunder the mufller' 12and being in an inaccessible position. These articles may be readilyreached for removal When the plate 16 is from the pan by swinging the.register frame 8 upward. Furthermore, the pan'3 may, be

swept out or cleaned when the registerv frame 8 is opened, by reachinginto the pan and sweeping the accumulated dustand dirt out of the panthrough the openings 28 when the dampers 29 are held in open position.This therefore permits maintaining the heater clean and sanitary andfurthermore enables cleaning out of'the heater to be done with dispatchand ease as thefp-arts are read ily accessible for cleaning purposeswhen the register plate 8 is swunginto open position.

.at the same time acting as a muffler.

i,sie,eee

To insulate the mu'liler 12 from the bot-tom of the pan 3, a. packing 33of insulating material, such as asbestos, is interposed between theparts and also forms a" resilient sup-port for the muffler in the pan.

By the construction described, the heater and muflier are installed as aunit or fixture, thus allowing the mufiler to be used as a means forsupplying heat to the car, while- This therefore eliminates the expenseof having twoseparate parts for this purpose as heretofore, namely, aheater and a muffler both separate, and also minimizes the expense ofinstalling the parts in the car as the two are combined and areinstalled both as a sin 1e unit or fixture.- The register 8 having 51cdamper plate 16 permits'the latter to be turned off when desired andalso permits a regulation of the amount of heat passing into the car.This also makes possiblethe use of the heater and mufiler combined, asthe heat in the mufiler may be shut off in the car by closing the plate16. The radiant heat from the muflier is carried oil through theopenings 28 and thus does not find its way into the car to inconvenienceor make uncomfortable the occupants thereof when the heater is not inuse. To aid in this, the plate 16 -.in detail a combined heater andmufiler emcarries a sheet of asbestos 32 on its under side.

By the construction described, the heater may be utilized in thewinter-time or in cold weather and may be readily turned oil insummer-time or when not desired, without interfering with the functionof the mufiler as such.

While I have shown and described herein bodying the features of my;invention, it is of course to be understood that the details ofconstruction and arrangement of parts shown may be variously changed andmoditied without departing'from .the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1-. A device of the character described, comprising a register=plate, apan beneath the same, a mufller in said pan for radiating heat throughsaidregister plate, a slidably mounted damper plate beneath saidregister plate for controlling the passage of heat therethrough, saidpan having openings on opposite sides thereof to permit a current 0 airto pass through the pan, and over the muflier, spring pressed dampersfor normally closing said openings, arms on said dampers, and meanscarried by said damper plate to engage said arms upon movin'g saiddamper plate into closed'position for open ing said springpresseddampers;

2. A device of the character described,

comprising a register plate, a pan beneath the same ha ring a bottom andupwardl extending marginahwalls, a mufller in sai pan for radiating heatthrough said register plate, said mufller having a projecting ribextending about the same and engaging against the marginal wall of saidpan above the bottom thereof, said register plate being hinged to saidpan, and a damper plate slidably mounted beneath said register plateandcarried thereby for controlling the passage of heat therethrough.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I aflix mysignature this 1st day of November A. D. 1921.

ELMER RYDER.

